Cynthia Nixon Says Miranda and Che Weren’t Originally Supposed to Hook Up on ‘And Just Like That…’

You officially have Cynthia Nixon to thank for Miranda Hobbes’s relationship with Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez) in the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That…. 

During the behind-the-scenes documentary about the franchise’s latest chapter, which dropped on HBO Max on February 3, Nixon revealed that her character initially was going to explore her sexuality with a completely different new character, Professor Nya Wallace (Karen Pittman), but she convinced showrunner Michael Patrick King to try something else.

“Originally, when Michael was trying to think about what would happen in our season, he talked about Nya, Miranda’s professor being the romantic relationship,” she said, per the Daily Mail. However, Nixon didn’t find that dynamic intriguing. “Nya was a straight character and Miranda’s a straight character, and I was like, ‘Well, that doesn’t sound very sexy at all.’”

She continued, “Two women who’ve gotten to this age and who are now just fumbling around. That doesn’t seem great. And I was like, ‘Why couldn’t [Miranda’s love interest] be this butch person you’re talking about having for Carrie?’”

And just like that, the season’s most controversial ship was born between Miranda and the nonbinary podcast host and comedian that was written specifically for Ramirez. Whether or not fans are happy that the affair led to the end of Miranda’s marriage to Steve Brady (David Eigenberg) is a whole other conversation.

“Miranda is so overwhelmed by how attracted she is to Che and how off-kilter that Che has thrown her that she becomes Charlotte and starts doing The Rules,” Cynthia Nixon said during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. “I think some people are not loving seeing these characters maybe off-kilter, but I love that.”

For their part, Ramirez is trying to stay out of it. “I don’t recognize myself in Che,” Ramírez told The New York Times in a recent interview. “I’m very aware of the hate that exists online, but I have to protect my own mental health and my own artistry. And that’s way more important to me because I’m a real human being.”